Boeing pushes suppliers to adopt automation over craftsman methods

Investing.com -- Boeing Co. told suppliers they must shift away from traditional manual processes as the airplane manufacturer works to increase production rates.

Chief Technology Officer Lane Ballard said at an industry event on Wednesday that the aerospace sector needs to transition from its historical approach to modern manufacturing techniques.

"Aerospace used to be a craftsman business, hand-built, hand riveting," Ballard said. "Now we're going to higher levels of automation, higher levels of repeatability, and we not only need to have us doing it, but our suppliers need to be versed in autonomy."

Ballard added that suppliers "need to understand we've got to move away from craftsman thinking."

Boeing and competitor Airbus SE are working to increase production to address large order backlogs. The companies face challenges from supply chain bottlenecks affecting key components.

Increasing 737 Max production rates remains important for Boeing as it works to reduce debt and compete with Airbus in the single-aisle aircraft market.

Ballard said the industry will need approximately 40,000 commercial airplanes over the next 20 years.

Last week, Boeing Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg said the company needs more time to stabilize 737 production at 47 planes per month, noting that in-house wing production presents challenges.

"I think we're in pretty good shape from a supply chain to actually move to the next rate once we get some of these flow enablers behind us, and that'll happen next year," Ortberg said.

Ballard said Boeing and its suppliers require engineers with expertise in software, autonomy, artificial intelligence and rapid design-to-manufacturing processes.

"You think about an engineer of the past, they would think about that beautiful wing in flight," he said. "Now, we have to think about a beautiful wing in flight, able to be built at rates that weren't heard of just 20 years ago."

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